I saw it with DD who is 17. I persuaded her along because I thought it would be good for her to understand just how lucky she is to have food, clothes, a warm house etc. Though actually, these things should be a given for everyone.
We did think some of it was a bit cliched and predictable but I still found it very thought provoking and thought the acting was very real. I came away with a despair about how crap modern life is - all the automated systems, the beaurocracy, the lack of humanity, the hundreds of people chasing every job - and I wonder how we've got to this position.
I was struck by all the government money that's going into this ridiculous beaurocracy instead of where it's really needed. Something the film didn't mention but DD and I both thought about the poor single mum is how come the father gets away scot free? I bet he isn't in a homeless hostel or moved hundreds of miles from family. It also made me angry when the job centre woman said "shall I write you a food bank letter?" I thought, yes, you know damn well you're basically starving someone so let's rely on other people instead of providing for this poor bloke from the taxes he's paid his whole life. I think people felt a lot of anger as well as sadness at the end. We need to overhaul so many things in this country it's hard to know where to start. I really hope every government official and MP is made to watch this.
What really scared me most, though, is that could be most of us. I'm lucky enough now to have a small amount if savings, but even living as frugally as possible they'd only last us 2 or 3 months if we had no income - and I know that's more than a lot of people. Five years ago we'd have had no buffer because we were just hand to mouth every month.
There must be millions of people in Britain, us included, who are only one illness or one job loss away from being in the same position as the film characters. That's frightening and none of us can or should think these issues don't or couldn't affect us.